2 Pa. Marines die in Iraq insurgent fight

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Two Marines from western Pennsylvania were killed during fighting in an insurgent stronghold in Iraq, military officials said Monday. Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich, 32, of Allegheny, and Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, 22, of Washington, were killed by "indirect fire" in Hit on Sunday. Hit is on the Euphrates River in western Iraq. Family members were told Kovacicek and Goodrich were killed while taking cover behind a building, according to Kovacicek's brother-in-law, Ron Salvatti. Kovacicek enlisted to defend his country, Salvatti said. He arrived in Iraq in March and was expected to return home in October. Kovacicek was a junior studying criminology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania; he also had played hockey at Canevin Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.